? ?
("2001: A Space Odyssey")
>> Hi, welcome
to Director's Cut.
I'm your host,
Charles Monroe-Kane.
Here at Director's Cut,
we're dedicated to bringing you
the best in independent films
and filmmakers.
Our film today is a documentary
called "Mad City Chickens."
And yes, it's a documentary
about chickens in Madison,
from the Chicken Underground
and their efforts to legalize
backyard chickens,
to the story of Consuela,
a chicken saved from the dump.
This documentary has humor
and a heart.
"Mad City Chickens"
was produced and directed
by Tashai Lovington
and Robert Lughai.
Excellent to have you both here,
and some guests, as well.
Who do we have here?
>> This is Flicka,
previously known as Red.
>> And this is Ricka,
previously known as T-2.
>> They used to be our chickens.
We had them in our backyard.
They are stars in our movie.
>> Now they're in this
interview, as well,
and they're stars.
Good to know.
Tell me, you set out to make
a documentary about chickens.
There must have been a moment
with your friends
sitting around coffee
where they kind of teased you
a little bit.
Why did you make this film?
>> Yes, nobody really understood
in the beginning, why chickens.
But we had had chickens
previously, so we knew that
they were interesting animals,
and a lot more
than just the "scared chicken."
So, when we saw an interview
in the local paper
on the Chicken Underground,
that was very intriguing
in Madison.
That kind of started that off.
>> Tell me about that.
Tell me about
the Chicken Underground.
>> Well, for years in Madison,
it was not legal
to have chickens
in your backyard in Madison.
People still wanted chickens.
And they would hide them,
either in the garage
or in their backyard.
And there was a loose knit group
of people that called themselves
the Underground.
They had chickens illegally.
>> Now, of course, there doesn't
need to be an underground,
because it's legal in Madison.
>> That's correct.
>> But there are rules.
You can't just have
a thousand chickens, right,
in the backyard?
What are the rules?
>> In Madison,
you can have four hens.
No roosters, because roosters
make a lot of noise.
>> Wow, so no cock-a-doodle-dos.
>> No.
>> Exactly.
You do have to have the
permission of your neighbors.
They do have to agree to it.
And there are some guidelines
as to where the coop can be set,
how close to the house.
>> That's interesting, the coop.
There's one thing I learned
from watching your documentary,
is that coop culture is serious.
The way that people make their
coops, how they decorate them.
That is the thing.
Tell me more about what
you learned about coop culture
from doing this film.
>> Coop culture is serious.
Chicken people have pictures
of their coops in their wallets.
And they will talk to you
about different coop designs.
We know people who want
drawbridges on their chicken
coop, so they can push a button
in their house in the morning
and it will drop down.
>> Really?
>> Yeah.
>> That's sweet.
>> There's all kinds
of neat things.
>> There's a great clip
that we're going to show
from your documentary that,
to me, epitomizes not only
what people are like in Madison,
but coop culture.
Let's roll that clip.
>> This is the basic
chicken house.
It's just made
from two sheets of plywood.
>> One of the things
that we wanted to do was figure
out a way to make it easier
for people to keep chickens
in small spaces.
And what we've come up with
is a pen that's totally made
out of welded wire fencing.
You just slip
the little ring in there.
Squeeze.
That's all there is to it.
If you're out very much,
to move it is a piece of cake.
>> A piece of cake.
Why do people care so much
about chickens?
>> Well, I'll tell you,
when we first got into chickens,
way before the movie,
we wanted eggs.
So that was our reason.
>> Eggs, all right.
>> So the strange thing is,
chickens have personalities.
Every chicken
has their own personality.
They're intriguing.
They're not like dogs or cats,
but they have their own style.
And there's a group of people
out there
that are attracted to that.
>> People who like birds.
>> People like birds.
Now, there are lots
of different kinds of chickens.
Are there certain breeds that
have different personalities?
>> Definitely.
>> So it's not just about
aesthetics.
It's about the personality,
as well.
You guys got into chickens.
Why did you get into chickesn?
What happened?
Was there a moment where
it was like, I love chickens?
>> I've always liked birds.
But actually, what happened
is a friend of mine gave me
some chickens as a present.
It was just kind of like,
here you like my chickens,
here's some for you.
So they came unexpected.
And we weren't sure we would
like them as much as we did.
We definitely did.
>> If I understand my biology
it's one egg a day, right,
that's all they're
going to give you?
>> Yes.
>> So if you have four chickens,
you get four eggs a day.
>> For the most part.
>> If they're all laying.
>> Now they have different
colors, right?
Chickens have different colored
eggs, as well?
>> They do.
>> Brown, white, blue.
>> Mainly brown and white.
>> There's blue, right?
>> And different sizes, too.
>> I love that.
Your film
does a really good job.
You follow one family.
It's Elizabeth,
and her husband and children.
Through the whole process
of deciding to get it,
of them getting the chickens
and the whole process.
Tell me a little bit more
about Elizabeth.
Tell us how you met her
and why you decided
to follow her around.
What was her family like?
>> Well, we knew we wanted
somebody we call the newbies.
>> The newbies.
>> Somebody who didn't have
chickens before,
and was thinking about it, and
then going through the process.
Because there are
a lot of people who
hopefully will see the film, and
be in the same shoes as them.
And so, it took a long time,
actually, to find somebody
that would be perfect.
But when she emailed us--
We put out a call to Madison,
and she responded.
And her family was perfect,
two kids,
and outgoing personalities.
It was great.
>> They'd never had chickens
before.
>> Never had chickens.
>> No idea how to do it.
>> Knowing nothing about it.
So you just followed them around
the whole process.
We're going to show a clip.
Set up the clip for me.
The chickens get mailed to you.
Of all the things
I saw in the film, I was like,
Post Office,
like mailed to you, right?
>> Yeah.
>> Did you know that?
>> Yeah.
>> Well you did, because
you got chickens that way.
I thought you went to a farm
and picked them out.
>> There are local farms around
here that do raise chickens,
and people do that, too.
But there are hatcheries
dedicated to sending baby
chicks, mainly in the spring
and early summer, to people
who want to raise chickens.
This particular one
came from McMurray Hatchery,
where we did a tour there.
Then Elizabeth
ordered her chickens.
Now the thing is, when you order
chickens through the mail, you
have to get a certain number.
Because they're young chicks,
okay.
So if you get a small number
and it's cold, you know,
they're riding in the back
of a mail truck, they could die.
So they usually send them
in groups of like 24 or 25.
So in Madison,
you can only have four.
>> Yeah, okay.
>> So, either lots
of chicken owners get together.
>> Like a party.
>> Exactly.
>> But Elizabeth
had a friend who had a farm.
So she got four
and sent the rest to the farm.
>> Let's see the clip
of Elizabeth and her family
getting their chickens
for the first time.
>> There's 25 chickens in there?
Listen to the sound.
>> I'll take them downstairs.
( chicks chirping )
>> Oh!
( laughter )
>> Oh, my gosh!
>> Oh!
( chirping continues )
>> Get that guy!
>> They're louder
than I thought.
>> I like this!
They make so many noises.
( chirping continues )
>> I could watch these chickens
all day.
>> Who needs TV
when you have chickens?
>> That is a great clip.
That was a clip
from the documentary,
"Mad City Chickens."
I have two little kids.
I have a 1-year-old
and a 3-year-old.
And I was like, there is no way
I would have chickens.
There's just no way.
Then I watched this documentary
and I see that part.
And I'm like picturing my son
jumping up and down.
Do they make good pets?
>> They really do.
>> Why? Tell me how
they're good pets.
>> They do have personality,
first of all.
>> That helps.
>> They're, especially hens,
typically are gentle, and goofy,
and fun to be around.
And when we had chickens,
when we first had chickens,
I'd come home from work
and go in the backyard,
sit down in the sun.
They'd all come around and
sit on my lap and on shoulder,
and stuff.
So you know,
you're part of the flock.
>> What about paper?
Do they bring in the paper,
or anything like that?
>> Not yet.
But chickens do do tricks.
There's a piano playing chicken.
>> They peck for tricks, right?
Tell me some good tricks.
Did you teach your chickens
any tricks?
>> We didn't.
Although, they went nuts
over spaghetti.
>> Nuts over spaghetti.
People watching this are like,
nuts over spaghetti.
Good with children.
Kids like spaghetti, too.
I see this happening.
Now, you follow Elizabeth
through.
But there's another character
in the film
that I really related to.
Her name is Liz.
She's the owner
of Nutsy Mutts and Crazy Cats.
It's a pet food store.
Tell me about Liz.
What was Liz like?
>> Well, we originally
didn't have Liz.
We were actually at the very end
of our filming.
We happened to go into
her pet store, because she sells
organic chicken feed.
When we got our young chicks,
we wanted to get chicken feed
from her.
We met her and she told us the
story of Consuela from the dump.
And we were like wow,
she's a really good personality
and the story's awesome.
We should really think
about adding it.
We went home
and talked about it.
We called her up, I think the
next day, and she said yes.
She's a great addition.
>> She is.
Let's roll that clip.
You'll see why she's
a great addition to this film.
Roll that clip.
>> On the day that I went
to pick up my chicken feed,
my husband and I
had to go to the dump
and drop off some things.
We were on our way out,
and we had this huge semi
behind us.
We looked to the left, and
we saw this thing running along.
And we said, "Oh, my gosh,
it's a chicken!"
It didn't look
like a very helathy chicken.
It was a fast chicken,
but not a healthy chicken.
It didn't have any feathers.
It was very, very bright red.
So Garrett got out.
And it was quite hilarious,
because initially,
he was running around
chasing this chicken.
He got back in the truck
and said,
"I'm going to need some help,"
and "I have to move the truck
because there's a semi
behind us."
I was laughing, because
I'm sure the semi guy
was just cursing my husband
because he's sitting there
behind us.
And we're chasing the chicken
around the dump.
So we stopped our truck
and wrestled up the chicken.
>> That's another great clip.
Tell me more about Liz.
>> The interesting thing,
like Tashai was saying,
we weren't going into her store
to meet her to be in our movie.
We had been filming probably
a year and a half,
maybe two already.
And we were done.
You know, we wanted to move on.
We had Elizabeth and Dan,
and their family.
And that was going to be
the heart of our film.
And they are.
>> You have two hearts.
>> We have two hearts, exactly.
>> Two directors, two hearts.
That's a good idea.
>> So, when we heard her talk
and tell her story
about how she got the chicken,
and also how she started
to carry chicken feed.
She wasn't carrying chicken feed
in her store.
But the neighborhood people
that had chickens kept--
It's a neighborhood pet store,
so they kept coming in
and "harassing" her.
Please carry chicken feed.
Do you carry
organic chicken feed?
Eventually, she gave in.
That's how she got her chicken,
by going, she was on her way
to the feed store.
>> Do you guys have any scale
as to how many chickens
there are in Madison?
>> I think
there's 40-some permits.
So at four per household.
>> There's two here.
Now, I'm curious.
We were talking about
the chickens being here.
And there's a family,
thank you guys, for bringing in
the chickens for us today.
There's the daughter
of the family.
She's a log roller.
And she was telling us about it.
She's ten or 11 years old,
and talking about log rolling.
Is anything interesting?
You're documentary filmmakers.
If you have a young girl
doing log rolling, you know,
someone who's the champion
watermelon seed spitter.
What tells you, hey, that's
quirky, I don't want to do that;
or that's 20/20, I don't want
to do that; or hey, this has
depth and breath, this can make
an independent film.
I can make a documentary
about this.
You chose chickens,
but how do you go about
choosing what you do?
Would you do a log rolling
documentary?
How do you choose it?
>> For me,
I've got to feel the heart.
There's got to be something
there that will touch people
on a deeper level, rather than
just an intellectual level.
So the chickens, it does
touch on an intellectual level,
because people are concerned
about where their food
comes from now.
And it's a small step
of reconnecting with that.
We had chickens, like I said.
You really connect with them
on a deeper level, as you would
with a dog or a cat.
Or you can, at least.
You know, there's chicken people
who eat their chickens, too.
>> Right.
>> That's part of it.
>> What about you?
What do you look at?
You're filmmakers.
What do you look at
to say there's enough here
that I want to do?
Does it always have to touch
you, or sometimes is it like
I have to do this,
because no one else has done it?
>> I think I definitely
have that part in it, too,
the heart part.
But also, you know,
filmmaking takes a long time.
We were working two and a half
years on this film.
So it has to have that substance
for me to be interested in it
that long.
>> Right, you better like it,
or you're not going to enjoy it.
That's interesting.
So, what are you guys
working on next?
Are you working on something
together?
Is it secret?
>> We are working on something.
It's actually
a fiction feature film.
>> Fiction's okay.
>> But that's all
we're going to say.
>> That's all you're going
to say, ooh!
Your film isn't very linear.
And I used the word film
in that sentence, because
it's a documentary film.
But it's not very linear.
And a lot of what you do in
the film, including moments of
fiction inside the documentary--
And I watch
a lot of documentaries--
And the way you made it
was very atypical.
And I was wondering why you felt
you wanted to include fiction,
and to be so non-linear
in making a documentary.
Does that come because
you're fiction filmmakers?
Where does that come from?
Why does it have
a non-linear feel to it?
>> I think it was definitely
influenced, because
we really like fiction films.
And because of the funniness
of chickens,
or the humor that can be.
They say "chicken film,"
like you said in the beginning,
everybody laughs.
It lent itself,
I think, to that.
>> Right.
>> And it's kind of our style
to bring the story into it.
>> Well, I want to show
another clip from your film.
And I have to admit,
it's a fiction clip.
And I have to admit I loved it.
It just cracked me up.
I'm not going to set it up.
Let's just roll the clip and
we'll talk about it afterwards.
>> You're not seriously
considering putting this
in the movie, are you?
>> Yeah.
( chicken clucking )
>> Dude!
That ain't normal.
>> Someone should get
the professor.
( sirens blaring )
>> You get the professor!
( sirens continue )
>> Wait for me!
>> Oh, no...
Each of our birds receives
very special attention.
They're fed 100% organically.
I'm quite sure that you'll find
that these hens...
( assistants screaming )
? ?
( lively piano music )
( both scream )
? ?
( lively piano music continues )
>> That was a clip
from the documentary
"Mad City Chickens."
Tashai, why the giant chicken?
>> Two reasons.
The humor of the chicken,
definitely.
We wanted to include that.
We got so many laughs
just from telling people,
"Oh, you're doing
a chicken documentary,
Ha, ha, ha."
And then also, kind of
the other deeper story behind it
is people think that
chickens in the city
is a big deal.
Some people are afraid of it.
You know, what will my kids
think; or will it attract foxes
or snakes, or something like
that.
>> Or diseases.
>> Diseases,
so there is that fear.
That big chicken
kind of represented that fear.
I don't want
to give away the ending,
but we think it worked out
all right in the end.
>> Yeah, we definitely don't
want to give away the ending.
What I want to do before we go,
I want to bring up--
These were your chickens,
originally.
>> Correct.
>> That you met through Liz,
the owner we saw.
>> This is actually
the giant chicken in the film.
>> Oh, my gosh!
>> We used to call her T-2.
>> Congratulations.
You looked great.
I wanted to introduce the family
that now has the chickens.
We have Liz and Evie, right?
>> Jen and Evie.
>> I'm sorry.
Jen and Evie, come on up.
How are you guys?
>> Fine, thanks.
>> And how are chickens
working out for you?
>> Pretty good.
They make such great pets.
They're such a hilarious pair
to add to our family.
>> What do you think about
them being the giant chicken?
What do you think about your pet
being a giant chicken
in the film?
>> We were thrilled
to see the film.
It was sort of happenstance,
one of those Madison--
a friend of a friend things,
that we came to have them
in our family.
>> Well, that is one of the--
Thank you very much.
Thank you for bringing
the chickens in.
I've always wanted
to meet a chicken like that,
so thank you very much.
I want to thank everyone today.
I want to thank all of you
for watching.
And of course, I want
to thank Tashai and Robert
for joining us.
Thank you for making it.
Independent filmmaking
is also about making
documentaries about chickens.
Thank you all for watching
Director's Cut.
For more information
on "Mad City Chickens,"
or any of the films featured
on our show, please go to:
www.wpt.org/directorscut
And while you're there,
send us an email.
We would love to hear from you.
I'm your host,
Charles Monroe-Kane.
And for everyone here
at Director's Cut,
thank you for joining us.
Check the gate.